Last Chance for Stuffed Cabbage!

It’s warming up out there, and soon the oven will get a much-needed rest as we round the seasonal corner to stir frys, grilling and cold meals. But it’s always nice to say goodbye to a really, really long winter with a slow-cooking, rib sticking, cold weather meal.

Let’s get started with our dinner of Stuffed Cabbage. The ingredient list couldn’t be more basic:

Cabbage (either Green or Red) (I used red so it would show up better in the pictures!)

1 ½ lb. Ground Chuck

1 C Rice

1 Egg

1 Tb. Salt

Pepper

1 lg. Onion

4 C Beef Broth

1 bottle Tomato Juice

Mix the meat, rice, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl. Bring a pan of water to a boil. You can use a deep pan if you like, I used a frying pan because it’s just as easy and doesn’t take as long to get to a boil. Preheat oven to 350.

Cut the core out of the cabbage and set it, core side down into the boiling water. In the meantime, you can slice up your onions, and pour a little tomato juice in the bottom of your roasting vessel. Now, roll the cabbage over and allow the hot water and steam to loosen the outer leaves. Using tongs, remove the outermost leaf and set it on your cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut out the thick vein in the middle of the leaf.

Turn the leaf around so the outer ends are facing you and the cut is facing away from you. Form a handful of stuffing, make sure it’s firm, then set it at the edge of the leaf. Pull the sides up over the filling, then roll the whole thing away from you until you get a nice little bundle. Set that bundle, cut side down into your pot. Continue to roll up the stuffing and cabbage until your first layer is nice and integrated. Pull a few leaves off of the head of cabbage and chop them roughly on the cutting board. Sprinkle them over the rolled cabbage. Then sprinkle over half of the cut onion.

Return to stuffing the little packets and make another layer. Cover the second layer with chopped onion and cabbage. Now pour the broth and remaining tomato juice over all until it comes almost to the top of the roasting pan. Lay a few more cabbage leaves on top, and cover with a lid (NOT aluminum foil – it will dissolve into the dinner!). Set the whole thing in the oven, and cook for about 3 hours. You may have to add more liquid as time goes on, so check it once every hour or so. You can add broth, tomato juice or water.

When it’s ready, remove the lid of the pot and also remove the first layer of cabbage leaves. Using tongs, serve up some GREAT dinner!

Spanakopita -- Cooking Class

Spring means Spinach. And Spinach means Spanakopita!! (aka: Greek Spinach Pie)

This is such a good dish! You can make it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can eat it hot, cold, room temperature or warmed up. You can put it together and bake it later. It is SO versatile! And, it’s vegetarian! So let’s get started!!

1 pkg. Fillo dough, thawed in the refrigerator overnight

2 lb. of fresh Spinach: washed, stemmed, steamed, dried and chopped

OR 3 boxes frozen Spinach: thawed, and squeezed through a towel until thoroughly dried

1 med. Onion, chopped

1 clove Garlic, minced

Olive Oil and Butter

Salt and Pepper

6 Eggs

½ lb. crumbled Feta Cheese

1 tsp. Oregano

1-2 sticks Butter, melted

First, the spinach. However you arrive at the destination described above, remember that you must-must-must put the spinach in a dish towel and twist it with all your might over the sink to dry it. Wet, soggy spinach will ruin this dish.

Bring a small frying pan up to medium high heat. Put in a Tb. of Butter and a Tb. of Olive Oil. Saute the onion and garlic. Add about 1/8 tsp. of salt and a nice grinding of fresh black pepper. When the onion is translucent, remove from heat and cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add the cheese, oregano and chopped spinach. Mix well. Stir in the cooled onion/garlic mixture. Now your filling is ready.

Melt a stick of butter and pour it into a large shallow bowl. Butter a 10” x 15” jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides). You can use a larger pan, it will just make a thinner Spanakopita, and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

This is the part where things get hairy. Read through these instructions before attempting this next part. Also, the pictures included here are of a “half-sheet” size pan, not the one noted above. Instead, I made two smaller ones and gave one as a gift.

Fillo dough is so thin, that it will dry out in no time. The object of the game is to get this next part done as quickly as possible. So, first set out your shallow bowl of melted butter, your jelly roll pan. Open up the box of Fillo and unfold it to lay it flat on the counter. Have a dishtowel ready to lay over it to help keep it from drying out. Cover the Fillo with the towel whenever you have a pause in this next assembly step.

Take 2 sheets of Fillo and arrange them in the pan with the edges hanging over the sides. Depending on the brand of Fillo (some are half sheets, some are whole sheets), you might have to use 4 sheets to start so that you get a good overhang. Now put the palm of your hand right into the butter. Pat a palm print twice – once pat on each quarter of the pan. Butter your hand again and pat a palm print on the two remaining quarters of the pan. Cover this with two (or 4) more sheets of Fillo. Repeat. Cover with more Fillo, Repeat. And do it once more. The object of the game is to get about 8 sheets of Fillo (buttered between every 2 sheets) into the pan. The top layer does not have to be buttered.

Now, grab your bowl of filling and use your fingers to get it evenly spread over the entire bottom of the pan. Dip your fingers into the butter and fold all of the overhanging Fillo onto the top of the filling. Make sure the now-exposed underside of the formerly overhanging border is well-buttered.

Grab two pieces of Fillo and lay them on top of the filling. Dip your palm in the butter and proceed with the palm prints as above. Set two more pieces of Fillo on top again, and continue until you have used up all the Fillo. Then tuck the overhanging edges into the inside of the pan edge, and slather LOTS of butter all over the top.

Now, using a very sharp paring knife, cut the Spanakopita into the size slices you want. You just have to cut the top Fillo layers, not all the way through to the bottom.

Place the pan in the oven and bake for 50 minutes. It will be a beautiful golden brown. Allow it to cool somewhat, and then using the cut marks you made earlier as a guideline, cut all the way through and serve. MMMMMMMmmmmmmm !!

Roasted Cream of Celeriac Soup

It’s cold. I know it’s the understatement of the season, but February is the worst! Snow has been predicted for twice this week, and the total new snowfall will be over a foot. Everything in me is saying “Stay Warm” – and so I shall, with a fantastic soup I made this weekend. It adapts perfectly well to a vegetarian version, but you might want to leave out the cream….

Roasted Cream of Celeriac Soup

4 C (about 2) peeled and cubed Celeriac
2 Tb. Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
2 cloves of Garlic, chopped

2 stalks of Celery, chopped

1 Leek, chopped
1 Potato, peeled and chopped
4 C Chicken or Vegetable Stock
1 sm bunch fresh Thyme
3 Tb. fresh Italian Parsley
2 C Heavy Cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
Homemade Croutons, if desired.

Preheat oven to 425. Toss celeriac with 1 Tb. oil and roast

for 30 min. stirring occasionally. In a large pot, heat oil and add onion, garlic, celery and leek. Saute for 4-5 min. or until onion is soft. Add potato, stock, thyme and parsley, then bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, partially cover and simmer for 20 min. Add celeriac and cook for 10-20 min. more. Remove from heat and cool slightly. (I just put mine outside the kitchen door. It was cooled in no time!) Make the croutons by tossing bread cubes in olive oil and salt until browned. Remove from heat. Back to the soup: strain the veggies well and puree the soup in batches using a food processor, until smooth. Return to sauce pan and add cream. Then slowly add the leftover stock until you like the consistency.

Season with 1 Tb. salt and LOTS of black pepper. When you serve this soup, make sure it’s very hot. Grind even more pepper on top as you serve it. The deal is, you get a nice hot spoonful of soup that warms you all the way down, followed by a warm feeling from the pepper. It’s DIVINE!

To warm this soup up the next day, spread the soup in a bread pan and cover with foil. Set the bread pan into a 9x13 pan with water poured into it. When the bread pan sits in the water, it should be about 1” deep. Set this into a 425 degree oven for 40 min. It will be piping hot!

A New Kind of Junk Food

Fast food, boxed food, fried food, 100% “sugar-food”, foods made with hydrogenated oils, chemically-laced foods, foods so far removed from actual food that they’re causing an epidemic of obesity. What to do? What to do? Why, cut out the Junk Food, and eat Real Food, of course.

But what is Real Food? All of the fish on our planet are potentially contaminated, many of our most basic crops are genetically modified then irradiated, livestock is injected with hormones and antibiotics, the majority of our crops are sprayed and fertilized with harsh chemicals and stripped of vitamins and minerals, our water is “fortified”, and now – we have to deal with unlabeled, cloned meat and milk. Even if we never eat conventional “junk food” the food we do eat could easily qualify as a new kind of junk food. Junk Food disguised as Real Food that is causing an epidemic of diseases this planet has never encountered before.

What to do, indeed! I can tell you that as a population, we are faced with some mighty overwhelming obstacles. I feel like I’m part of a giant science experiment that couldn’t possibly have a good outcome…even vegetarians have to think about the sources of the food they eat. When I look down the road to the end of my personal science experiment, I wonder how I could possibly remain healthy if everything I eat is modified to this unheard-of degree. And the problem gets bigger every day.

What we can do about this predicament is to vote with our pocketbooks. I know that sounds like the long way ‘round to this goal, but when we consume clean, organic food we get an immediate benefit to our own bodies, and we begin to detoxify and strengthen our cells, muscles, tissues and so forth. We also give an immediate benefit to the planet: as more people insist on Real Food, the effect is to detoxify depleted farmland. Farmland that has been overworked and soaked with chemicals is allowed to transition to healthy, certified organic farmland producing clean, nutrition-packed food the way our parents and grandparents enjoyed it. Real Food, if you will.

If you eat Real Food, you can enjoy more of those foods we’ve been conditioned to avoid. And a prime example (no pun intended) is organic meat. Grass-fed organic meat is higher in CLAs than any conventional meat. CLAs are the beef-protein version of the Omega-3s found in fatty fish such as salmon. Even non-grass-fed organic meat is preferable to conventional meat because it is fed with organic hay, grains and legumes and corn – not the genetically modified, pesticide saturated feed that factory cattle are fed. Let’s not even mention the steroids they’re injected with to produce more muscle, and the antibiotics that follow the steroids because of the problems the steroids produce, and now the cloning for who-knows-what-reason...

I will probably never give up meat altogether. I love comfort food, and on these winter weekends I love to braise organic short ribs for hours in the oven, or get the slow cooker out for a great soup idea. And I love the reassurance I feel that the food I’m eating is REAL. Let’s take the “guilt” out of “guilty pleasure” with a recipe that makes a Real winner of a weekend dinner:

ITALIAN PEPPER STEAK

This recipe is very, very freeform. You cannot mess it up, ingredient-wise. This is one of my many, many versions, but feel free to go to the comments section with your ideas, too.

2# Sirloin or Round Steak cut in strips

Flour to coat

1 med. Yellow Onion, chopped

6 cloves Garlic, chopped

Olive Oil

2 Green Peppers cut in strips

1 lg. can Whole Tomatoes and maybe a smaller one, too

2 Tb. Tomato Paste

½ C Dry Sherry, Red Wine or Water

Salt and Pepper

Pasta

First, chop up the onion and garlic and slice up the meat. In a stockpot, heat a little olive oil and drop in the onion and garlic. Reduce the heat to med. high and stir fairly constantly. You do not want the onions or garlic to brown. If they’re starting to brown, turn the heat down. (I sound like Johnnie Cochran). While that’s cooking, toss the meat strips in flour and shake off the excess.

When the veggies have a nice sheen, remove them from the pan, add a little more oil and drop in the meat. Stir that meat constantly or it will stick, stick, stick – and then burn. While that’s cooking, grind up the tomatoes in your blender. When the meat is evenly browned (about 7 min.) remove it from the pan and pour in the sherry. Stir the sherry and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it reduce to “almost invisible”. Now, pour in the ground tomatoes, the meat and the onions and garlic. Bring the pot up to a low simmer, partially cover and stir it occasionally for about an hour.

While that’s going on, cut up the green peppers in strips. After the hour has gone by, heat up a pan to very high, put in some olive oil and drop in the peppers. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Constantly stir them and let them get a bit browned, but don’t go overboard or they’ll disintegrate in the sauce later. Then add the tomato paste and keep that stirring action going until the peppers are coated and the paste is beginning to cook.

I’d like to stop here and make a note about tomato paste. I use it frequently. A little cooked tomato paste will thicken and enrich any dish, and it doesn’t have to be a tomato dish. I use it for beef sauces, chicken sauces and even vegetable sauces. So, rather than open a can of tomato paste and use a Tb. or two just to throw the rest out, I buy it in tubes. It’s a little more expensive, but I use all of it, so the cost works out for me.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled recipe method:

Time to add the peppers to the sauce. Just pop them in and stir well. It’s also time to start the pasta water (now that I have a free burner. I don’t consider the little burners on my stove as burners, actually, but more like holding areas). I was considering making homemade spaetzle for this dish last night because I had a taste for gnocchi (figure that one out!), but I was feeling kinda lazy (or maybe kinda crazy!), so I opted for the factory-made kind. Any kind of pasta will work here, but I prefer egg-y noodles, myself.

Now. Taste the sauce. What does it need? Salt? Pepper? Basil? Oregano? Parsley? How do you like your gravy to taste? Adjust the seasonings to make yourself smile, cook and drain the pasta, and get ready to serve. At the end of the process I grated Pecorino Romano on top instead of Parmesan. Why? Because it’s made from sheep’s’ milk and it has a more complex flavor than Parm.

A note about the pictures. We got a new camera for Christmas, and I can see that I need to start standing on a ladder to take pictures for this blog. Either that, or get a little taller, somehow. They all came out a little blurry, but they all still look yummy – to me, at least.

Send me your recipes. I’ll make them and blog them. Otherwise, you’re stuck with mine. =)

Grilling Artichokes

Right off the bat, you just have to face it: Artichokes are a lot of work. It doesn’t seem that way if you do a little today, and finish them tomorrow, tho. So here’s the plan: Prep them today, and amaze all your friends at the bar-b-que tomorrow!

I prepped these artichokes while I was making a pizza for dinner. You don't have to set aside the morning to do this!

You will need a grill. If you have smoking chips, use them, too. But that’s tomorrow. Today, we do the work.

Prepping and Marinating Artichokes

2 Artichokes
3-4 Lemons
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Large Pot of Boiling Water

Sharp Knife
Tablespoon
Vegetable Peeler

Have that pot of water boiling.

First, cut a lemon in about 6 slices. Pull off the 2-3 lowest tiers of outer leaves on each artichoke, then peel the stems with the vegetable peeler. Put a fresh cut at the bottom of the stem. Now quickly – right away – rub a slice of lemon over all the newly exposed surfaces. This is a recurring and very important theme. The cut surfaces of a raw artichoke will turn black in a few minutes. Working quickly is the key.

Now, cut one artichoke in half as shown. Immediately rub the newly cut surfaces with lemon. Using the tablespoon, remove the furry choke and any thin, spiky (usually purple) inner leaves. Rub the newly exposed surfaces with lemon. Repeat with the other half, and again with the other artichoke. All the cut pieces in these pix have been liberally rubbed with lemon. See the pic on the right for what you’ll have left over!

Plunge the prepped artichokes into the boiling water and hold them down with tongs to be sure that all the air between the leaves escapes and is replaced with boiling water. Do this several times. Turn them over now and then, too, to be sure they’re cooked completely. When not turning them, partially cover the pot. This step will take about 20 min. for very large artichokes.

In the meantime, juice up the remaining lemons. Ignore the seeds. Just leave them in the juice. They’ll fall off during the grilling. Pour the juice in a very large, non-reactive bowl. Now add about 2/3 as much olive oil as there is juice into the bowl. This is not a critical measurement. Sometimes I use more oil, sometimes more juice. Then put at least 1 Tb. or more of Kosher Salt into the bowl. Grind in a lot of fresh pepper and whisk it all together.

You’ll know when the artichokes are finished cooking because a paring knife will slip easily into the exposed artichoke bottom. Lift the artichokes out of the water and let them drain in a colander -- cut side down -- until they’re cool. Then set them into the marinade, spooning the mixture into all the little crevices. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight…or over 2 nights, whatever you like.

Cooking the Artichokes (Serves 4)

I forgot to photograph this part, so I’m using pix I took of other grilled artichokes – that’s why they look like they shrunk!

Remove the bowl of artichokes from the fridge and allow to sit at room temp while you prepare the coals. Get the grill going hot, use wood chips if you like. Now set the artichokes on the grate and allow the flames to surround them for a moment or two. Now cover the grill and keep all the vents open. You can also add anything else you’re going to grill at this point. Turn the artichokes after at least 5 minutes, then again after 5 more. The object here is to just get them warmed up, and charred too, if you like.

When you serve these guys, be sure to put a big bowl on the table for the leavings. The flavors will melt in your mouth!

To me, they’re worth every minute of prep.

(Clicky all the pix for a better look!)

Risotto

I know it’s almost officially summer, but you’d never know it here! The nights have been in the mid-40s and the days are barely hitting 80. This past week, it never went over 75, and some days were downright chilly – just right for a last hurrah of Risotto.

This version is done “restaurant style” so everything stays pretty and the flavors retain their distinctness. You will need Arborio Rice or, my favorite: Carnaroli Rice. The former is now available in most grocery stores, the latter in Italian Specialty or Grocery Stores. This rice releases a lot of starch while cooking – almost making a soup – and that’s what makes Risotto what it is.

For 2-4 people you’ll need:

1 Broccoli Crown cut in tiny florettes
1 small Onion, chopped small

1 medium Carrot, diced
1 C frozen Peas, thawed
4-6 cloves Garlic, chopped rough
1 C Arborio or Carnaroli Rice
5-6 C Chicken Broth
3 Tb. Butter
Zest of one Lemon, chopped
¼ C Parmesano Reggiano

10-12 medium or
8-10 jumbo Shrimp

Olive Oil

(Options: use Veg. Broth or water, and leave out the shrimp for a Vegetarian-Style version, or substitute Chicken for the shrimp.)

Clean an devein the shrimp, then cut them in half lengthwise and again crosswise. Start a pan for sauté and a saucepan for the rice. Saute the shrimp and half of the garlic in a little olive oil. Strive to slightly undercook, rather than overcook it. In the saucepan, heat some olive oil and add the veggies (but not the peas). Stir constantly over high heat so that they caramelize just a bit, and cook through – but just barely. Remove the shrimp to a plate, and the veggies to a bowl.

Heat a little more olive oil in the same saucepan you cooked the veggies in. Add the rice and cook until the grains begin to shine a bright white. Add a cup or two of chicken broth, and boil stirring constantly. The rice will begin to absorb the broth, so add some more. Keep adding and stirring until the rice won’t absorb anymore and the remainder of the liquid has cooked away save for a nice, hot starchy bath around the rice kernels. Taste a few grains to make sure they’re cooked.

Now, take the pan off the heat and add the butter. Stir well. Add the Parmesan and stir again. Pour in the veggies (this time the peas, too) and stir once. Now ladle the risotto into a serving bowl. Sprinkle the lemon zest on top, and maybe another grating of Parmesan. Then sprinkle some garlic shrimp on top of that. Ahhhh! It’s Italian comfort food!

Kung Pao Chicken 101

I LOVE Kung Pao Chicken! This is a dish for which you spend all your time in prep, and almost none actually cooking. And because all the ingredients can be delivered by Timber Creek, you won't spend any time shopping, either! (You can get the grocery items from our Wholesale Buying Club: Natural Farms.) Dishes like this are good because you can do the prep in short bursts throughout the day instead of all at once.

You’ll need 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. From TCF, I usually get 1 package of split breasts on the bone and bone them myself – it’s less expensive, and not very difficult, but that’s another post.

If you have a wok, this recipe will go easily. If not, use your largest skillet and consider using two turning utensils instead of one to keep the food moving over the heat. My wok is 35 years old and made of spun steel. It’s developed a little patina over the years, so don’t let that throw you in the pictures.

You can refrigerate the leftover Kung Pao on top of the leftover rice, and it is a great chicken salad eaten cold or room temp…if it lasts that long! The usual caveats stand about using sherry. NEVER use “cooking sherry”. Always use something that is at least drinkable…and “cream sherry” is not for cooking. I use Christian Brothers Dry Sherry. Inexpensive and it does the trick.

The bottled ingredients are also available in almost any grocery store. (...and you can click all the pictures for a larger view...)

Kung Pao Chicken (or Shrimp)

In a bowl, mix:

1 Tb. each, dry sherry and cornstarch
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper (white is preferred, but not necessary)

1 ½ lb. skinned, boned chicken breasts cut into bit-sized pieces (or 1 ½ lb. shelled & deveined medium shrimp)

Mix the ingredients in the bowl. Add the chicken and coat well. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 min.

4 Tb. peanut oil
1 C roasted, salted peanuts, shelled
1 ½ Tb. each: minced garlic and minced ginger
1 – 1 ½ bunches scallions, sliced

Cooking Sauce Recipe:

4 Tb. soy sauce
1 Tb. Thai chili sauce (or other hot sauce)
2 Tb. each: white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar and dry sherry
6 Tb. chicken broth
4 Tb. sugar (optional)
3 Tb. cornstarch

While the chicken is marinating, shell the peanuts. I shell them on a dish towel. Then I gather up the towel and rub the outside well – that loosens the paper covers. I take a small handful over the sink and very lightly blow away any remaining paper, then put them into the measuring cup.

You can prepare the garlic, ginger and scallions just before you start cooking.

When it’s time for dinner:

Start the rice. I often use jasmine rice cooked in chicken stock – 2 C stock to 1 C rice. Bring the stock to a boil, add the rice and stir. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 min.

While the rice is cooking, heat your wok over high heat. When it’s hot, add 3 Tb. of the peanut oil. Add the peanuts and stir constantly. When they are just beginning to brown, start removing them from the pan to paper towels to drain. If any burn, throw them out. This step flavors the oil.

Remove the chicken from the fridge and add 1 Tb. of peanut oil – mix well. Add the ginger and garlic to the wok, stir twice, then add the chicken and stir constantly until it is no longer pink. Add ¾ of the scallions, allow them to cook about 2 min, and then pour in the cooking sauce. The dish will come together immediately. Remove the wok from the heat and stir in the peanuts. Spoon some rice into a bowl. Spoon the Kung Pao Chicken on top. Sprinkle with scallions. Dinner is served.